ICE Reinstates Vehicle Stops With New Body-Camera Rules After Four Regions Quietly Refused to Resume Them

An agencywide email sent on July 22, 2026 and obtained by The Intercept reinstated Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle stops under new restrictions. Under the guidance, at least one officer on a stop must wear “an issued and activated body worn camera,” officers must have completed ICE vehicle-stop training, and stops tied to criminal arrests or search warrants must be conducted by a certified Special Response Team member. ICE had halted vehicle stops nationwide on July 13 after fatal shootings by officers in Houston and Biddeford, Maine; Trump directed on Truth Social two days later that the stops resume. Officers in at least four of ICE’s regional areas of responsibility told The Intercept they did not restart stops in the interval, with one saying, “The president says one thing but in reality we all follow established policy.”

The sequence describes a presidential instruction delivered by social media that field components did not treat as an operative order, and an agency that took nine days to issue guidance through its own channels. It also documents a capability gap: DHS says about half of ICE officers have been issued body cameras, with the remainder expected within two months and training still required before field use.

The policy is in effect as of the July 22 email. The officers describing the earlier non-compliance spoke anonymously; ICE has not publicly confirmed that account.